The State Capitol Report

By Rep. Joseph H. Jefferson Jr.

Wednesday, March 27, 2013

• The House Passed a BudgetThe South Carolina House of Representatives passed the 2013-2014 FY Budget last week, authorizing $22.7 billion worth of spending. The bill now goes to the Senate.• Medicaid Expansion FailsAll attempts to fully participate in Medicaid under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act failed. Expanding Medicaid would have provided health insurance to more than 250,000 people. Under the program, the Federal Government would pay 100 percent of the costs of the enhanced coverage for the first three years.• Local Government FundingLawmakers authorized $182 million in funding to local governments, about $35 million less than state law requires. The House recently passed a resolution to suspend the statutory requirement for local government funding to permit this level of funding in the budget.• Cyber-securityThe House authorized $45.2 million in spending on cyber-security protections following the data breach of the Department of Revenue. This money will pay for two years of credit monitoring and any money left over would help enact a statewide cyber-security plan.• Prison FundingThe House put $18 million in new money in this year's budget for the Department of Corrections. This money includes a 3 percent pay raise for officers at the state's most dangerous prisons.• Education FundingLawmakers spent $175 million in new money on K-12 Education, increasing per-pupil spending by $89 from last year's budget. That is still far below the $2,771 that state law requires under our current funding model.

If you have a comment or opinion concerning the matters discussed in this report, or if I may be of assistance to you at any time, please feel free to call your legislative office in Columbia at (803) 734‑2936, or my office in Pineville at (843) 567-4386. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you in the House of Representatives.

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